12/9/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - "I lied about a lot of things when I was arrested Mr. Wade," defendant Stewart Law Skuba told Assistant District Attorney Rob Wade. "At the time, I was in dire fear for my life and for my family's life and well-being."

12/9/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Members of the gang force pulled over a pickup at the intersection of 17th Avenue and Capitola Road in Live Oak for a vehicle code violation , according to Gang Task Force Commander Mario Sulay.

12/6/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - After deliberating for more than a week, jurors Tuesday found Michael Patrick McClish guilty of two counts of murder for the slayings more than five years ago of Joanna "Asha" Veil and her unborn baby.

11/9/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Stewart Skuba, 33, is accused of trying to disable Elias Sorokin with chloroform in Santa Cruz in an attempt to steal about 10 pounds of Sorokin's marijuana. When that didn't work, prosecutors allege that Sorokin was beaten unconscious and then thrown off a cliff on the North Coast. The 29-year-old's body has never been found.

11/9/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Tiny fibers found in a former Ben Lomond man's truck were chemically indistinguishable from fibers pulled from the body of the pregnant woman he's accused of killing in 2006, a forensic expert testified Tuesday. Michael McClish, 42, is charged with murder for the deaths of Joanna "Asha" Veil and her unborn child.

11/3/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - The ex-wife of a man charged with killing a pregnant woman in Ben Lomond testified in court Wednesday that he asked her to lie about his whereabouts on the evening Joanna "Asha" Veil was last seen.

On the evening a 28-year-old pregnant woman went missing, she'd told her college friend she planned to ask the man she believed was the father of her child for a paternity test, a witness testified Wednesday in the murder trial of a former Ben Lomond man.

8/23/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 21-year-old Santa Cruz man accused of robbing and raping a barista at Kind Grind coffee shop near the Santa Cruz Harbor in 2008 was held to answer on all charges in a preliminary hearing Monday....READ MORE

7/14/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - The 28-year-old Soquel man who drove his car deliberately into oncoming traffic faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of murder, Santa Cruz County prosecutors said today....READ MORE

7/14/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - The 28 year-old Soquel man accused of intentionally crashing his SUV into a woman's car on Highway 17 is expected to be charged with murder today, the District Attorney's Office said....READ MORE

7/13/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - The 28 year-old Soquel man accused of intentionally crashing his SUV into a woman's car on Highway 17 has been charged with murder, the District Attorney's Office reported today....READ MORE

7/13/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Attorneys gave opening statements Tuesday in a murder trial that two separate juries will decide for two defendants. Julian Escobar, 26, is accused of shooting to death 19-year-old Angel Escobedo on a basketball court in the Apple Hill neighborhood near Green Valley Road in Watsonville. Jose Avelino "Gordo" Sandoval, 27, is accused of being his accomplice.....READ MORE

6/24/11- Santa Cruz Sentinel - It was clear during a Superior Court hearing Friday that the lives of two men were shattered, to varying degrees, because one of them struck a motorcycle on Highway 1 almost two years ago and drove away - without stopping or calling for help.....READ MORE

6/24/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Arnulfo "Nui" Anaya, the Garfield Park Village handyman whose arrest on a gun charge prompted the owners to fire him, sparking an outcry from residents, was sentenced Thursday to jail time for a drug possession conviction.....READ MORE

6/21/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - April Parke, the mother of the cyclist who was killed on Empire Grade Road in a hit-and-run, said Monday that she wanted the suspected driver to understand the "value of life" as the case moves to court this week.....READ MORE

6/16//11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A man convicted of molesting and drowning a 3-year-old girl in Lompico in 1988 will be released some time between today and June 25, following a ruling by the state parole board.....READ MORE

6/15/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 38-year-old Live Oak man was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of felony probation on Wednesday after he rode his bike over a 3-year-old in San Lorenzo Park.....READ MORE

6/8/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - DNA evidence was presented Tuesday in the trial of two men accused of killing a Los Angeles man during a botched 2009 drug deal in a Felix Street garage.....READ MORE

Man sentenced in DUI, weapons case6/4/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel- Judge John Gallagher Thursday sentenced a 31-year-old man to four years in prison for felony driving under the influence, hit-and-run and possession of metal knuckles,

6/2/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - In an all-too-familiar courtroom scene, two young gang members were sentenced Wednesday to decades in prison for a gang-related stabbing and shooting. Jordan James Macias, 21, and Abraham Santoyo, 19, were charged with a lengthy string of felonies for the high-profile March 5, 2010, attack at Cabrillo Lanes on Auto Center Drive....READ MORE

6/2/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - In a chilling case that has dragged on for years, a former Ocean Street liquor store clerk was sentenced Thursday to 40 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a 3-year-old after breaking into her family's apartment more than 10 years ago.....READ MORE

5/26/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Testimony continued for the second day Wednesday in the trial of two men accused of the 2009 murder of a Los Angeles man who prosecutors allege was killed in Santa Cruz during a marijuana deal.....READ MORE

5/25/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Alexander Napolean Reyes was sentenced Wednesday to one year in jail, five years probation and lifetime registration as a sex offender for abusing a teen he met while employed at her school.....READ MORE

5/12/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A judge ruled Wednesday that a 22-year-old Sacramento man will face a trial on two charges of pandering related to an April incident with a 17-year-old prostitute in a motel room on Ocean Street.....READ MORE

5/12/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A man claiming to be from Santa Cruz County Superior Court has been harassing residents and demanding money in a phone scam, the District Attorney's Office reported.....READ MORE

5/11/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 31-year-old Watsonville man pleaded guilty Monday to four sexual abuse charges and he is expected to be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison, the District Attorney's Office reported .....READ MORE

5/11/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A judge ruled Wednesday that a 22-year-old Sacramento man will face a trial on two charges of pandering related to an April incident with a 17-year-old prostitute in a motel room on Ocean Street.....READ MORE

4/21/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 31-year-old Santa Cruz man who was discovered with more than a pound of cocaine in his house was sentenced to two years in state prison by a Santa Cruz County Superior judge Wednesday.....READ MORE

4/14/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Two Watsonville gang members pleaded no contest Wednesday to attempted murder in a March 2010 stabbing and shooting at a now-defunct Watsonville bowling alley.....READ MORE

4/14/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 39-year-old man convicted of child molestation last week is expected to face a new trial on a charge in which a jury did not reach a verdict. On April 5, Jason Seth Albion O'Connell was convicted of burglarizing a home on Blaine Street in Santa Cruz and molesting a 3-year-old girl stemming from an incident in 1998. After several weeks of trial, a jury convicted him of burglary and all counts related to molestation but one -- forced oral copulation, according to court records.....READ MORE

4/9/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - It was the strands of hair collected from a trash can. It was the DNA collected from the coffee shop near the Santa Cruz Harbor where a 23-year-old barista was raped at knife point before dawn in March 2008, authorities said....READ MORE

4/8/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Shonn Marcus Montalvo Jr. and Robert Avila, both of Watsonville, entered a plea bargain with prosecutors Thursday to settle gang and weapon charges from a recent arrest.....READ MORE

4/6/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A judge today set a Sept. 26 preliminary hearing for Maurice Ainsworth, the Santa Cruz man accused of escaping from a Sheriff's deputy and stealing her gun in a five-hour rampage through a preschool and several neighbors' homes....READ MORE

4/6/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Julio "Sleepy" Cabrera, a 28-year-old man convicted in a 2010 shooting at a Watsonville restaurant, was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years and 8 months in state prison, a judge decided.....READ MORE

4/6/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A judge on Tuesday declined a prosecution request to increase bail for an 18-year-old Watsonville man accused of pistol whipping a man and firing a gun in the air outside a house party in Soquel....READ MORE

4/1/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A former gang member testified Friday for the prosecution during a preliminary hearing for three men accused of murdering a man on Roache Road in Watsonville in 2009...READ MORE

3/29/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A gang member Monday continued testifying against three former cohorts accused of murdering a man outside his Roache Road home, providing a glimpse inside the workings of a Watsonville gang....READ MORE

3/28/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A gang member Monday continued testifying against three former cohorts accused of murdering a man outside his Roache Road home, providing a glimpse inside the workings of a Watsonville gang.....READ MORE

3/24/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 17-year-old gang member testified Thursday that he was in the same car as two men when with a gun on the night a 20-year-ol1d man was shot dead on Roache Road in Watsonville in 2009....READ MORE

3/23/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Three Watsonville men accused in the slaying of a 20-year-old man in 2009 will continue a preliminary hearing Thursday, a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge decided. A witness to the alleged murder also is expected to take the stand.....READ MORE

3/23/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A Westside maintenance man who recently lost his job because of a controversial gun conviction will face a hearing for alleged drug possession during his work furlough, a Santa Cruz County Superior judge ruled Wednesday.....READ MORE

3/23/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A young Soquel man who has been in two drunken driving-related collisions, including a 2007 crash in which his two cousins died, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of violating the conditions of his recent release in a DUI case.....READ MORE

3/22/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Laura Alford was found not guilty of accessory to murder late Monday, three days after her father, David Alford, was convicted of second degree murder in the same case, the District Attorney's Office reported.....READ MORE

3/18/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - David Alford was convicted of second-degree murder and personal use of a firearm, a jury decided Friday, setting up a potential sentence of 40 years to life in the slaying of Hans Heath....READ MORE

3/18/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Three gang members were sentenced to state prison time Thursday for crimes including attempted murder, assault and weapons violations, District Attorney Bob Lee said....READ MORE

3/15/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Rarely used DNA from a suspect's family member helped authorities link a 21-year-old Santa Cruz man to a 2008 robbery and sexual assault at the Kind Grind Coffee Shop near the Santa Cruz Harbor, police reported.....READ MORE

3/11/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutor Celia Rowland offered a new theory of what happened the night of April 20, 2009, when David Alford is accused of killing Hans Heath and Laura Alford allegedly covered it up.....READ MORE

3/9/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - An 18-year-old responsible for more than 160 graffiti tags in Santa Cruz County in recent months was sentenced to 270 days in jail and ordered to pay more than $20,000 in restitution to the victims, a Santa Cruz County Superior judge ruled Wednesday.....READ MORE

3/9/11- Santa Cruz Sentinel - Defendant David Alford said in cross examination Tuesday that he was trying to hold Hans Heath's head with his left hand and hit him with his handgun in his right hand when the gun discharged, killing Heath and shattering Alford's finger and wedding ring....READ MORE

3/8/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Speaking with a slight drawl and smiling through his mustache, murder defendant David Alford took the witness stand Monday and said Hans Heath threatened to cut his throat the night Heath was killed.....READ MORE

3/8/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - A 28-year-old man who prosecutors said stole 36 bottles of vintage liquor in Scotts Valley and ran from police when spotted in the Santa Cruz Mountains will go to trial, a Santa Cruz County Superior Judge ruled Monday.....READ MORE

3/5/11 - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the murder trial of defendant David Alford said he may take the witness stand on Monday to tell his side of what happened the night of April 20, 2009.....READ MORE